I'll Walk Through Hell With You
by Seket
Summary: Timeline: At the end of Season 1 Appearances: Kogami Shinya, Shogo Makishima Disclaimers: I do not own these characters. POV: Third Person Omniscient Summary: Shogo Makishima isn't dead...but why?
1. Chapter 1 of ?

He was on a boat. It had taken him a day to realize this.

At first Makishima just thought himself to be dead, floating down the river sticks towards whatever the after life held in store for persons like himself. A third of a day spent with eyes shut and thoughts serene. Should one feel pain in the after life? This was more purgatory than any sort of final destination. His body ached, wounds stung and itched with hot infection. He heard the gun go off in his memories, all he had left of the life he'd lost; an old fashioned sound that he'd grown used to from all the time he'd spent in Senguji's company. The Sibyl System wouldn't have his mind in this life as it had been blown to bits by the one he'd deemed worthy of destroying it.

These were the thoughts he had as he faded in and out of consciousness. Perhaps he'd never truly woken up at first, but then he heard a door. A metallic groan followed by a long scrape. Then a notable pause followed by more scraping. Finally a strong clank. Mind that had been basking in calm serenity was swiftly being invaded by countless questions to which he had not yet discerned any answers. Makishima realized in this moment he was breathing, actually breathing and not just the memory of breathing. He became fully aware of his body and the pains it still felt. There was a pressure on his wrists and his ankles.

What were the most important questions? Why was he alive, where was he, and who was there with him. He could reason that Sybil had not gotten a hold of him or his brain. Had they he would no longer have a body to be feeling no doubt. Then if not Sybil...

Kogami Shinya.

If that man had truly kept him alive then there was a reason of great importance. Makishima felt his toes and fingers tingling. His heart gave a flutter of silent excitement. Until he had better bearings on his situation it would be best to keep up the appearance of unconsciousness. Breaths remained even and slow, eyelids still, body relaxed not stiff in any way.

This was how, given hours of speculation, the captive came to realize he was on a boat. A house boat to be exact. It didn't sway in quite the same way a boat or even yacht would. There was more weight to its subtle shifting to and fro. The sensation, although faint, helped him focus and stay relaxed.

Makishima heard the sizzle of food cooking. The scent of smoke, from the food and from cigarettes. Those cigarettes were Kogami's without a doubt. Soft grunting signaled what he assumed to be a daily work out regimen. This brought a new question of importance, how long had he been unconscious? More time passed. Running water from a tap, then a toilet, then a shower head with unknown stretches of time between each. He'd tried to keep count of the minutes but found it not to his liking. There were too many sounds he would rather focus on.

The fluttering of a book's pages being turned. That sound was Makashima's undoing as he could no longer sit back with curiosities reigned in. He'd weighed his options and decided it would be unfortunate for things to end pre-maturely. What if Kogami thought him comatose? Surely not...he was only thinking such a thought to further encourage his desire to do as he wished and ask his questions. Baring in mind of course that Kogami still might not give him any answers.

Such excitement was well worth any risk.

Slowly, Makishima slid his eyes open and as he did so a dull flickering light from kerosene lantern flooded his vision forcing long closed eyes to adjust to the brightness. Blinking several times to clear the spots, by the time his sight regulated moments later Kogami was standing beside him. Piercing gaze bore into him.

"We have so much to discuss now that the night belongs to us alone and no one else," Makishima rasped, realizing his mouth was dry only now that he'd parted his cracked lips to speak.


	2. Chapter 2 of ?

Kogami wanted Makishima dead. He'd wanted to watch the life fade from malicious gaze until no trace of the man was left to haunt the world any further.

However...that night which felt lifetimes prior, when one phone call had set in motion all the chaos that led to present time, Makishima had told him the Sybil System wasn't something worth Kogami's life.

Motive had appeared, although it proved hazy at first. What reason would Makishima have to overthrow a system that allowed him to kill and maim as he liked without consequence? Kogami was suspicious enough to give weight to the man's seemingly strange claim. If the Sybil System ceased to exist the world would slowly return to some semblance of what it had been before and in that world Makishima was a murderer who would need to be brought to justice. For the betterment of the world...if the Sybil system was something not even a murdering psychopath desired to live within then was it not a larger threat than said psychopath? After all, one bullet could end the psychopath's reign, but how did one stop Sybil? Just the thought seemed at first incomprehensible but as Kogami continued to consider it and cloud his already muddied hue, the reality of such a desire seemed less and less impossible.

While clearly misguided, Makishima did not strike Kogami as unintelligent, too intelligent for his own good more so. As he had stood there in the blood red sunset watching moon rise and sun fade away, Enforcer had a decision to make that he could quickly come to regret. He had to figure out a way to increase the odds of things playing out in his favor. Akane was following him slowly due to injury, doing her job as an Inspector and as his friend...but he had his own job to do which included protecting his friends...but did not involve listening to a system he could no longer and perhaps never truly had trusted.

How had Akane's Dominator been put into a set mode? Was that not impossible...? On both sides there were questions to be answered...but he felt confident that both sides would provide the same answer as it was the root of all that had taken place.

Why would Sybil want to protect a man that was a living and breathing contradiction to everything said system stood for? Why not wipe that man out like the stain on society that he was and better yet, use an eager dog to do it who was already dead to society? Kogami didn't consider himself to be overly intelligent, but even he had issue seeing how such a vastly intelligent being couldn't see issue with such a simple solution.

Eyes narrowed in silent frustration as he had leveled the gun at the back of Makishima's head. Wrist shifted ever so slightly to the left. The loud bang resonated unhindered in all directions around them. Makishima slumped forward in a messy fashion that would undoubtedly leave a bruise on the man's cheek from how hard one side of his face had hit the ground. Kogami made no move to catch the psychopath. Keeping his gun leveled at Makishima he slowly approached the man, giving him a rough test kick in the side. This knocked Makishima onto his back. The man was out cold, but not dead. Looking over Makishima he ripped the criminal's shirt to use the strips of cloth here and there for the man's wounds. He couldn't go leaving trails of blood.

To ask Akane to answer his questions meant returning to the city and to Sybil's judgement. It also meant losing the ace in the hole that was Makishima's terrifying will. If Akane and Makishima had the same answer, then better to ask the one he could exert some semblance of control over on his own terms. Enforcer had to trust that grim respect had been formed between the two of them that would allow them to speak truthfully to one another about matters concerning Sybil and the future. Only time would tell and nothing would be answered if he let Makishima bleed out.

Makishima matched Kogami's height but not his weight. Even as dead weight Kogami could heft the criminal up easily enough. Although the Enforcer's fatigue wasn't making things easier, adrenaline certainly was. He had to get them both out of there. Taking a moment to let the weight of his decision sink into his bones, Kogami looked up to the horizon and moved forward.

Where he would go next had already been decided in the days prior. Arrangements silently made and carried out while off the grid. There were more places away from society to hide one's self than people realized, it was just quite rare that anyone willingly chose to isolate themselves in such places. This was one of those rare occasions.

Each step he took was harder than the one before it, and still there was so much to be done before any rest could be had. The sensation of Makishima's blood soaking through his clothes slowly unnerved him at first but he learned to ignore it as the trek continued. At some point during the night Kogami felt confident they'd escaped.

Stopping to take one knee and gather his bearings, the weight of Makishima over his shoulder suddenly felt unbearable and Kogami sneered as he threw the man roughly down to the ground in front of him. Softly panting as the momentary rush of hate ebbed itself back out of the Enforcer this might prove to be more difficult than he thought. Kogami wiped the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand and took in a deep breath. Letting it out he took a long hard look at Makishima.

Criminal appeared lithe and lanky but Kogami knew Makishima to be toned beneath ripped and stained t-shirt, his fist had felt the muscle on more than one occasion. Charisma. Even now he could see Makishima's in the soft features of the man's blood stained face. Hair looked to be soft, although matted and bloodied for the time being in places. One could easily look at this man and think him innocent of any wrong doing, couldn't they? There was a pride in the way Makishima squared his shoulders, yet he left his hair long and shirt untucked. Kogami watched Makishima's chest rise and fall slowly.

They had to move again. This was as much a break as could be afforded. Leaning down he picked the man back up, but his shoulder proved stiff from carrying Makishima on just one side so instead of switching sides he cradled the man in both his arms against his chest in what was traditionally known as a bridal style carry. One arm beneath both knees, the other behind Makishima's back, this would distribute the weight better. Kogami pressed on but refused to look down. When he'd initially picked the man up and bruised cheek had slumped to rest against his chest, a wave of nausea had hit his gut like a brick and he hadn't looked down at the man since.

They made it to the house boat right as the sun slipped into its midday position above them. Once he'd hit the water further back he'd kept in it to mask their scent in case measures were taken to try and track them. The night had been cold but Kogami was grateful for the cool water as the sun rose up later on. Begrudgingly he had to admit keeping Makishima's body close to his own had kept them both warm through the night. More than once the rush of the river had tried to take his legs out from under him.

Sloshing the last steps through the river's more shallow edge, Kogami lifted Makishima up onto the creaking dock before them then hoisted himself up after. Taking a few long moments to lay down on the sun warmed wooden dock and let the water drip off himself, Kogami had to admit he was a little shocked they had made it, prior fool's confidence be damned.

Making his way inside, Kogami had to put his full weight into the door to get it to creak open at long last. Stumbling in with squeaking boots on old cheap tile floor as the door finally gave into his weight, Kogami took quick strides around dingy coffee table to toss Makishima onto the sofa. Enforcer made his way back to the door and secured it then took a quick tour of the place, gun drawn and steps light.

Kitchenette was small and clean enough although the stove had dark black burns he knew nothing would take up. Bathroom was in a similar state however its stains were yellow, not black. Bedroom was big enough for a twin sized bed and not much else save the nightstand that had a single drawer and lantern atop it. Living room and kitchenette had one small, four feet wide and two feet tall, rectangular window each. Bathroom had a vent. Bedroom had neither. The windows didn't have curtains rather a natural brownish yellow frost over the glass itself and metal shutters that could be pulled over them and bolted shut. If he did this the make shift home would be pitch black.

Holstering his gun now that coast was clear, Kogami's gaze fell on Makishima. The criminal was still breathing slowly. Had the man not been in such good health prior Kogami was convinced he'd be dead already. Stripping down to his boxer briefs and tank top, Kogami laid his clothes out to dry over the coffee table. Sweat trickled down his neck from hairline. In the kitchen cabinet Enforcer found the impressive first aid kit he'd arranged for and set to work tending to his own wounds which didn't take much time. Showering after to further help prevent any chance of infection to himself. Now he could focus on Makishima.

Bringing the first-aid kit into the living room he knew something in him was disappointed to see the man hadn't died yet. If natural causes took him after all Kogami could just call it poor luck, fate if you will. Fate seemed to have other plans. Trained hands went about disinfecting and stitching wounds. Whether or not infection had set in...he noticed Makishima was sweating, looked somewhat flushed. Enforcer could guess the man's body was fighting off possible infection, perhaps a light fever along with it. Continuing to work, each stitch carried the weight of a quiet betrayal, to himself and to the people he had sworn to avenge.

As time wore on he grew numb to Makishima's presence, to his breathing. Kogami continued to mull over and resign himself to his decision. Now all he could do was wait for the man to wake. If he ever did wake up that is...

Once wounds were treated he used thick leather cuffs to bind the man's wrists and ankles. He trusted them more than metal against someone as resourceful as Makishima. With wrists and ankles bound so closely and tightly together it would be more difficult for the criminal to become creative.

Now at long last, he could rest. The sun had disappeared and moonlight looked the same color as sunset through the tinted windows. Kogami didn't bother to shutter the windows that evening as he didn't plan to turn on the lanterns. He laid on a thick fleece blanket beside the sofa listening to the water outside, the creaking and groaning of the house, and the soft breathing of Makishima Shogo.


	3. Chapter 3 of ?

Makishima was uncertain how he came to be alive in this moment. Uncertain he would be asked anything at all and not just tortured steadily for days on end, he was also fairly positive that wouldn't happen. He knew Kogami much better than the Enforcer would like to consider after all. Nothing governed this moment save fate and curiosity.

Considering himself to be king of both in his own right, Makishima was gaining confidence the more conscious he became of the situation. Although not a word had been spoken between either of them on what had taken place many things were initially obvious. Kogami had refrained from killing him and kept him from falling into the hands of Sibyl. To turn him in now would be to bring them both back to judgement and confinement. It wasn't an impossibility but it didn't seem logical either for Kogami to make such a choice as Makishima weighed just what the man's motive's for this moment might be.

The two men were alike after all weren't they? What need was there for verbal foreplay or demands? The moment was private and in being as such intimate as well. Makishima was not naive enough to think Kogami past the point of wanting to kill him. This was borrowed time and he would make the most of however much he was given. Perhaps even try to curb those blood thirsty desires as best he could.

"Before we begin, is there any water?" Makishima asked, already tone composed and at ease. What was there to fear when death was all but on your shoulder? He chose not to lead his life in such a way and waited for an answer.

Kogami blinked, certainly things wouldn't be this easy...but Makishima was good at surprising people, the Enforcer included. While Kogami didn't necessarily looked pleased, he didn't seem put out either. Standing up and disappearing into the kitchenette, former Enforcer returned with a glass of water. Makishima looked down to his bound wrists. Well. That was a situation he could safely assume wouldn't change any time soon. Although he had to be silently impressed that such care was taken in picking out these bindings in particular, "These are the sort of cuffs one can wear moderately comfortably for long stretches of time," he mused aloud. Kogami also seemed to see the predicament but set the glass on the end table and then moved back to lean against the wall he'd been by prior.

With large leather cuffs keeping him in check, Makishima would have to improvise even the most simple of tasks. Smirking quietly to himself as his thoughts wondered to if Kogami planned to help him piss, all good things in time he supposed. A crass but no less amusing thought. Shifting himself up into a seated position easily enough, save the few grunts it took when parts of him that were still healing made themselves known, Makishima reached out and cupped the glass in both his hands. Leaning his head in just a touch and bending his elbows towards himself slowly achieved the desired result. Water had never tasted so good.

"You help me to appreciate so many of life's subtle wonders," he mused aloud as he finished every last drop the glass had to offer, sitting it down as carefully as he had picked it up. Makishima leaned back into the sofa, finally looking up curiously to Kogami with a bemused grin, "Have a seat?" He offered, but when former Enforcer made no move to do as such, Makishima merely shrugged, "So why is it we are here, Kogami Shinya-san?"

Kogami seemed to take a moment to properly gather his thoughts, weighing in his mind how best to present his desires to the asymptomatic criminal, "You told me that Sibyl was not a system worth protecting with my life. Something in me had always..." he hesitated, a long pause before he continued, "What is the true nature of the Sibyl system?"

This seemed a logical place to start, Makishima giving a slow hum of understanding, "I told you what I still believe to be true and find myself quite pleased that you listened. Even if you had killed me...even if you still do, if you live on and away from Sibyl I feel as though a mirror of my own will is alive and well somewhere. We are like two sides of the same coin one might say. From the look on your face I take it you begrudgingly agree and have perhaps already been told as much. You are a man who can also appreciate an ordinary life..." he trailed off with what seemed to be a genuine smile on his lips, eyes had caught sight of the book Kogami had been reading, "I would like to discuss that book of yours next," he mentioned knowing full well that request would likely be denied, but one would have also thought him to be dead by now so it was safe to assume many seemingly impossible outcomes had more merit to them than previously suspected, "To answer your question, from what I was told and bore witness to myself thanks to my late associate's efforts, Sibyl is a system comprised of preserved human brains linked to highly advanced technologies that allow these minds to act, re-act, and interact at speeds and in capacities which give them the ability to gauge things like an individual's crime co-efficient. How so very many brains were chosen to begin the project I cannot say but..."

Makishima's eyes looked up from the book to meet suddenly with Kogami's own, "As the years have worn on, more and more minds were added to this hive mind. Minds like my own that prove criminally asymptomatic are highly sought after as it helps the whole of Sibyl to adapt and grow in ways that allow it to be ever more encompassing and resourceful. I was approached by the hive mind in their hopes to have me willingly agree to assimilation."

Chuckling softly he let out a patient sigh, "They heavily misjudged my desires. You might be interested to know that the man you search for and I once knew, Touma Kouzoburou, was also criminally asymptomatic; however, I suppose I should say is. He is alive and well...if one can call being in such a state alive, as a member of Sibyl's hive mind. The woman you know as your former Chief, Joushuu Kasei, is a highly advanced cyborg shell in which Sibyl will put a brain and then communicate through it as one entity. They sent Kouzoburou's brain to me in this fashion when they requested my presence among their ranks. I declined their offer of course and might have destroyed Kouzoburou in the process. Collateral damage I'm afraid. So in saying he is alive and well...that might very well be a lie."

Lithe body shifted a touch this way and that as Makishima's limbs began growing stiff from their restraints. A predictable eventuality he'd been waiting for subconsciously and did his best to ignore. Finally speaking at length with Kogami proved much more interesting after all, "Would it not have been easier to kill me? Was it not highly suspect that my safety was in some way considered priority? These facts stood out to you and deepened your doubt. You are far from foolish after all, Kogami Shinya."

This had been a good introduction to the problem. Where they went from here would prove interesting and so Makishima gave the former Enforcer a moment to soak in all the facts. It was quiet in the house boat, that looked more like a small fortress on the water now that he could see the rusted metal walls, and in that quiet his stomach was suddenly heard letting out a painful growl. Makishima looked down in surprise at his own body and while he remained silent at first, soon burst into laughter, falling over onto his side on the stiff sofa.

Laughter stopped suddenly as strong hands gripped his shoulders and roughly yanked him back into an upright seated position, still chuckling a little, Makishima looked over Kogami's intensely unamused expression that had come to be much closer, "Why do you frown so deeply? You, who in the eyes of Sibyl might as well be dead. You, who Sibyl views to know nothing and be worth nothing, are free of such harsh judgments. You took initiative! But...is that the problem? Do you not know why? And now that you have your answers, the spark that ignited a flame even stronger than your loathing of me if only briefly, do you question your existence?"

Makishima's gaze bore into Kogami's own trying to read each wrinkle and crease on handsome face for answers that Kogami didn't seem yet prepared or willing to supply, "You decide your own worth now. You may choose your own purpose. But what will you decide, Kogami-kun?" His tone had became more familiar, one might even say warm, sympathetic for the struggles of this man so very like himself, "No need to rush. Sibyl denied you a life time of decisions, but that was not time wasted as it has brought you to this moment we now share. What else we share is up to you."

Deep, contemplative hum, rumbled in Makishima's chest. He'd gone quiet again but spoke up in a much softer tone this time adding to the pre-existing intimacy of their proximity to one another, Makishima still very aware of the hands gripping his shoulders, "Whomever you may have once considered, still now consider, friends and family live within a city ruled by the minds of the twisted and perverse. I was told without hesitation that there were those within Sibyl's core whom had done things much worse than I or even Kouzoburou ever imagined. A sea of sinners posing as saints and placing themselves above judgement and death. They seek an eternal life controlling all those who walk in their world...but we can stop them."

Makishima was taking a bold risk inserting himself in whatever plans he deemed Kogami to be considering, but this was far too interesting to walk away from. And he also knew much better than to think Kogami would just let him walk away. "I've tried things my way but your friends stopped even my most intricate efforts surely thanks to your own meddling. You have the high ground now and I'm willing to listen to your desires and help you make them reality. It's not often one meets someone so very similar and yet all at once different from themselves. I suffer under no grand delusions. At any moment you could end my life, but I can't imagine anyone other than you killing me so this possibility isn't really frightening. I am aware that my presence brings you a great deal of inner conflict. It clouds your gaze and creases your brow even now..."

Before Makishima could say another word Kogami roughly shook him causing the criminal's vision to blur for a moment. A silence fell over them both, glittering golden gaze peering through bloodied bangs curiously at the former Enforcer. Had he touched a nerve? Maybe it was just too much information at once. Makishima kept quiet and focused instead on how the hands gripping his shoulders seemed to have a slight tremble to them. Was Kogami holding himself back from pummeling the criminal to death?

Kogami pushed himself away from Makishima and roughly took a seat on sturdy but creaking coffee table. Taking out his cigarettes he lit one for himself and took a long much needed drag. His worst suspicions couldn't have prepared him for the truth. Former Enforcer had been living in a world where people who he would despise told him his worth and controlled his life. Bile rose up in the back of his throat. Swallowing it down silently he took another long drag on cigarette, watching the smoke swirl up to the ceiling and linger there before slowly dissipating. Kogami's gut never lied. It had told him to keep Makishima alive after years of telling him to hunt down and kill the bastard. That was the first time he'd ever seriously questioned his own judgement, but had listened to his instincts and kept the man alive. Just how long did he keep Makishima alive? His gut wasn't telling him.

The former Enforcer looked up from his own boots, across from himself to where Makishima sat. As expected, the man was already looking intently at him. That bright golden gaze boring into him unapologetically. Could a man like Makishima ever truly be trusted? Kogami felt responsible for the criminal. From this point forward if Makishima took any more lives, wreaked any more havoc, it would be Kogami's fault as surely as it was Makishima's own.

If he was going to move forward, Kogami had to accept the weight of that burden and look forward, not back into a past he'd spent too long in. All those years meant virtually nothing in this moment where so many suspected truths revealed themselves as nothing more than lies. That wasn't entirely true. Who he was, how strong he had become, was all thanks to the past, but who he was himself was all that needed to move forward. Ghosts need not linger any longer in his dreams. Whether or not they would only time would tell.

"Dreams, Kogami-kun...?" Makishima's voice startled Kogami, and how compassionate the man's smile appeared to be in that moment sent a chill down former Enforcer's spine, "You were mumbling about dreams." The criminal explained his question and Kogami felt a cold sweat break out between his shoulder blades. Looking back down to his boots Kogami took another drag off his cigarette that was almost gone now.

Snubbing out the butt of spent cigarette in ashtray beside himself, Kogami straightened up to lock eyes with Makishima, "You are criminally asymptomatic. Do you still feel fear? Anger? Any emotions at all?"

Makishima thought this a curious question to ask. It thrilled him to hear it down to his toes. Kogami seemed to be testing him, wanted to hear from him that there was some degree of humanity within him, something worth keeping alive? Something the Enforcer could trust in? "I feel all the things you feel, Kogami-kun. Although, I will admit it is rare I feel fear. If I have felt it at all I can't recall. You would think that makes me no brighter than an insect, hm? On the contrary, I believe fear lives in all of us. I choose not to acknowledge it. You too have chosen the same before whenever you risked your life for another. We all make choices to either rise up to the occasion and see beyond our fears, or let those fears rule us and be our downfall. If I'm honest with you...all the best laid plans in the world could not have brought me here before you now. My plans were trying to set very particular things in motion and yet I find myself here with you now, all my previous goals unaccomplished. Some might view that as failure, but I see it simply as fate. You hold my life in your hands, Kogami-kun. I've never felt more alive than I do now in this moment here with you."

Whether or not this was what Kogami wanted to hear remained uncertain. The former Enforcer seemed to give a slow nod to Makishima's answer before standing up and striding out of the room. The light in the windows grew dimmer until Makishima was certain night had fallen. Body ached as he finally let himself re-adjust and lay back down onto his side then his back with a few careful wiggles. Fatigue washed over him as he lay down. As uncomfortable as his restraints proved to be, remaining concious meant remaining aware of his hunger. Shutting his eyes Makishima smiled to himself, "What will we dream tonight?" he asked aloud before slowly drifting to sleep.


End file.
